Lindy McDaniel obit

Lindy McDaniel, Ace Reliever for Mediocre Teams, Dies at 84

 

 He was not on the list.

Over 21 seasons — including eight with the Cardinals and six with the Yankees — he was one of the game’s most dependable closers but never made the postseason.

Lindy McDaniel, who pitched for 21 years in the big leagues and became one of baseball’s most dependable relievers in spite of the mostly mediocre teams he labored for, died on Saturday in Carrollton, Texas. He was 84.

His death, at an urgent care center, was caused by Covid-19, his son Dale said.

A lanky right-hander who generally relied on breaking stuff, McDaniel pitched for a total of five teams in both leagues — his longest stints were with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Yankees — and had success out of the bullpen as both a long man and a closer in an era before pitching specialization.

He was just 19 when he began his career with the Cardinals in 1955, and by 1957 he was in the starting rotation, winning 15 games as a sinker baller with a sidearm-to-three-quarter delivery. In June that year, his 18-year-old brother, Von, made his debut with the team, shutting out the Brooklyn Dodgers on two hits in his first start and then one-hitting the Pittsburgh Pirates a few weeks later.

St. Louis fans were giddy at the prospect of the brothers at the top of the rotation, and comparisons were drawn to the previous Cardinal star siblings, Paul and Dizzy Dean. Life magazine proclaimed them “the Amazing McDaniel Boys.” But things didn’t go that way. Von McDaniel’s star fell as quickly as it had risen, and he was gone from the majors for good in less than a year. (Von died of a heart attack in 1995 at 56.)

As for Lindy, his success as a starter was also short-lived. The Cardinals’ manager, Solly Hemus, in May 1959 sent him to the bullpen, where he began throwing overhand. The change in motion changed his career as well.

McDaniel led the National League with 16 saves in 1959 and 27 in 1960, when he made the All-Star team. The Sporting News named him baseball’s top reliever. Over his last 16 seasons, he started just 15 times.

“When I threw with that sidearm motion, I didn’t have enough speed to strike out batters whenever I was in a jam,” McDaniel told Arthur Daley of The New York Times in 1961, adding: “As a sidearmer I had a sinker, curve and slider. As an overhander, I have a fastball, curve, forkball and changeup curve.”

McDaniel was traded to the Chicago Cubs after the 1962 season and had a splendid first year with them, winning 13 games and saving 22, again a league high. Another good season was his first with the San Francisco Giants, in 1966, when he won 10 games in relief with an E.R.A. of 2.66; at one point he threw 20 ⅓ consecutive scoreless innings. He also pitched for the Kansas City Royals. He attended the University of Oklahoma and Abilene Christian College.